What are the common problems with the 2009 Cadillac STS?
Owners of the 2009 Cadillac STS have filed 15 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the airbags (5) and electronic stability control (4). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 13 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 15 owner complaints on the 2009 Cadillac STS. Owners named the airbags most often: 5 complaints, and half of the 5 that list a mileage came after 79,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 15 complaints, 4 report a crash, none reports a fire and none reports an injury. These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2009 STS
NHTSA's file holds 15 owner complaints on the 2009 Cadillac STS. Owners named the airbags most often: 5 complaints, and half of the 5 that list a mileage came after 79,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 5 | 5 | 80,000 |
| Electronic Stability Control (ESC) | 4 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Steering | 3 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Engine | 2 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Service Brakes | 2 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 15 complaints, 4 report a crash, none reports a fire and none reports an injury. These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2009 STS
The 13 mileages owners gave run from 8,353 to 145,000 miles, and half are at or under 70,000. With fewer than 20 mileages this page gives the median only: the other percentiles are too few to say. 3 came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2009 STS wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 10 of the 13 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2009 STS can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 8,353 miles |
| 25th percentile | Too few to say |
| Median (50th percentile) | 70,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | Too few to say |
| 90th percentile | Too few to say |
| Highest mileage listed | 145,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 3 of 13 |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | none |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 339 NHTSA owner complaints on the Cadillac STS that list mileage came after 63,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Cadillac STS last? →
Is the 2009 STS a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad STS: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 15 complaints, the 2009 ranks 5th of the 8 Cadillac STS model years from 1999 to 2009 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2006 (139). The fewest: the 2000 and 2001 (12 each).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 STS | 13 | 9 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2000 STS | 12 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2001 STS | 12 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2005 STS | 101 | 81 | 57,000 |
| 2006 STS | 139 | 114 | 72,000 |
| 2007 STS | 52 | 41 | 55,000 |
| 2008 STS | 50 | 43 | 57,500 |
| 2009 (this page) | 15 | 13 | 70,000 |
2009 Cadillac STS recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2009 model year under the name STS. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2009 Cadillac STS: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2009 STS lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2009 STS.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 2 of the 15 complaints on the 2009 Cadillac STS give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: STS. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: STS.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2009 Cadillac STS questions
What are the most common 2009 Cadillac STS problems?
NHTSA's file holds 15 owner complaints on the 2009 Cadillac STS. Owners named the airbags most often: 5 complaints, and half of the 5 that list a mileage came after 79,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 15 complaints, 4 report a crash, none reports a fire and none reports an injury. These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2009 Cadillac STS?
Of the 13 complaints on the 2009 Cadillac STS that list mileage, half came after 69,000 miles; 3 came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000. With fewer than 20 mileages, the median is the only percentile given. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2009 STS can cover.
Is the 2009 Cadillac STS a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad STS: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 15 complaints, the 2009 ranks 5th of the 8 Cadillac STS model years from 1999 to 2009 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2006 (139). The fewest: the 2000 and 2001 (12 each).
How many recalls does the 2009 Cadillac STS have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2009 model year under the name STS. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2009 Cadillac STS: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2009 Cadillac STS before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2009 Cadillac STS.